Eastern Rosella

Description:

The Eastern Rosella is an Australian native parrot. It's a medium-sized, colourful parrot species with distinctive white cheek patches. It has a red head, neck and breast, with yellowish to greenish upper parts, a yellow underbody, and a yellow-green to blue-green rump, with a red undertail. The shoulders are bright blue. Females are usually similar to males, but sometimes duller, and young birds are even duller and can be aged by their bill colour, which is yellow or orange, changing to off-white when matured. Its closest relative is the Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus palliceps), a species that I have spotted in southeast QLD. The subspecies P. e. elecica, is also found in northeast New South Wales and southeast QLD. In the male, the black feathers on the back have golden-yellow margins, and greenish-yellow in the female. The rump is bluish-green. This subspecies is also called the Golden-mantled Rosella. I couldn't get close enough to determine if this is actually the sub-species variety.

Habitat:

Usually found in open woodlands, grasslands, farmlands, and remnant bushland. Often found in urban habitats such as parks, gardens, and golf courses. This fellow was spotting sitting atop the chimney stack of an old building in the rural township of Uralla, in the New England District of NSW.

Notes:

It was only by chance that I spotted this bird and its shy mate. I could hear a distant chatted, but it was only when I saw a flash of colour against the vivid-blue sky that I was aware of the birds actual location. It is a stunningly beautiful species.